


High Society

by Browneyesparker



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, Gen, Gossip Girl Vibes, Hurt/Comfort, Riverdale CW, Riverdale reimagined, Romance, Slow Burn, bughead - Freeform, varchie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-06-25 15:50:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15643965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: A year in the life of the privileged lives of Upper East Siders. Riverdale/Bughead reimagined.





	1. Chapter 1 the Royal Wedding

**Author's Note:**

**.**

**Chapter 1 the Royal Wedding**

“You’re not looking so hot,” Betty Cooper commented as she reached out and took the cigarette from Jughead Jones, she dropped it on the ground and crushed it with the heel of her purple Jimmy Choos. “What’s got you down, Forsythe?”

“I cannot believe I actually have to give a speech at this thing,” Jughead answered.

“Well, you are the best man!” Betty reminded him as she fixed his bowtie and removed his crown beanie, she smoothed out the curl in front of his forehead and stepped back to look at him.

“Well, do you approve?” Jughead asked impatiently.

“You look very nice,” Betty replied.

Jughead huffed. “My father has been married _three_ other times, you’d think he would go for something a little more low-key this time. But _no_ , it has to be a bigger deal than ever.”

“Well, this is only Hermione’s second wedding and she didn’t really have a big one the first time because her dad was in the hospital when she married Hiram. Every girl dreams about her wedding day, no matter how old she is.”

Jughead tugged her in closer and whirled her around, pressing her into the brick wall. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?”

Betty grinned. “No, you haven’t.”

Jughead looked at her yellow silk, floral print dress and smiled. “You look gorgeous.”

“You’re a charmer,” Betty said, giggling a little when he kissed her neck.

“You’re very easily impressed,” Jughead replied, working his way up her neck to her ear.

“Jug, we can’t do this here!” Betty told him as she squirmed and tried to push him away. “It’s _church_ and your father’s going to get married in a matter of minutes!”

“They’ll never miss us,” Jughead tried to assure her.

“Oh, they would miss you!” Veronica Lodge interrupted, raising a finally arched eyebrow. “In fact, my mother sent me to look for the two of you. The ceremony is about to start. Do you think you could stop defiling my best friend long enough to come and participate in our parents nuptials?”

“We’re coming, _sis_!” Jug retorted as he relinquished Betty.

Veronica sighed and tapped her foot impatiently. “Listen, _Forsythe_ , my mother has worked too hard on this wedding for you to ruin it because you’re getting it on with my best friend.”

Betty blushed as she adjusted her dress and got her compact mirror out of her clutch. “We weren’t getting anything on, V!” she protested as she checked her hair to see if it was still in place.

Veronica raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I understand you’re in the honeymoon phase of your relationship and everything—”

Betty rolled her eyes. “Nothing happened, Veronica. _Nothing_ was going to happen!” she smiled at Jughead. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later,” Jughead echoed.

“Oh my. . .” Veronica trailed off and smirked. “You’ve got it _bad_ , stepbrother!”

Jughead fell into step beside her and she wound her arm through his as they walked to the church together. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“You are totally head-over-heels for Betty.”

Jughead paused and then shook his head. “No. I’ve never been in love with anyone!”

Veronica giggled. “You can’t hide those lying eyes,” she answered. “You love her. Come on, you’d feel better if you would admit it to me!”

“If I did, you would probably just run and tell her that I said I loved her the first opportunity you got.”

“So, you admit that you love her?”

“I didn’t say that!” Jughead protested. “I just said. . . if I _did_ , I wouldn’t tell you because I know how you tell each other everything and I wouldn’t want to risk her finding out from you.”

Veronica looked almost gleeful. “You love her! You love her!” she chanted. “Awww, our little Forsythe Pendleton Jones the III is finally growing up! I never thought I would see this day come.”

Jughead pulled away from her grasp and looked at her. “Veronica. Will you _stop_ it!? I’ve never loved anyone before in my life and I’m most certainly not going to start now. We’re just friends with benefits. . . Betty and I both have an understanding.”

“Oh, okay! I’ll take your word for it! You’re just friends with benefits!” Veronica replied, looking like she was about to die laughing. “Don’t worry, your little secret is safe with me.”

“There you are Elizabeth,” Alice Cooper said. “Where have you been?”

“I was with Jughead,” Betty replied as she sat down in the pew next to her mother and studied the program. “He was having pre-wedding jitters and I was trying to help him calm down.”

Alice frowned. “Oh, of course.”

“It wasn’t like _that_!” Betty said in exasperation. “We just talked, mother.”

“I’m sure you’ve just been talking _a lot_ ,” Alice replied as she took her oversized sunglasses off and chucked them into her handbag.

“Bitterness does not look good on you, mother!” Betty told her as she sat back in her seat. “Hermione’s your best friend, don’t let your anger over daddy’s leaving you for a younger woman spread and ruin her wedding.”

“Your father didn’t just leave me, Elizabeth. He left you, Charles, and Polly too.”

Betty shook her head. “No. He didn’t really leave me or my siblings. He and Jenny invited us all to go and spend the summer with them in Paris and as you know, we’re going to. Chic thinks it will be good for you to have some time to recover without us around.”

“Is Forsythe going with you?” Alice asked.

Betty sighed. “I haven’t asked him yet. But I might. Will that be alright with you, mother?”

Alice narrowed her eyes. “If you want to ruin your life, that’s up to you.”

Betty was saved from replying by the orchestra starting to play while FP, Jughead, and Archie and Fred Andrews filed in at the end of the aisle.

She caught Jughead’s eye and he winked at her, causing her heart to skip a beat on its own accord. She allowed her to mind to wander to what summer would look like in Paris and blushed a little.

They had made an agreement, they wouldn’t fall in love with each other. . . but. . . she was having a hard time following that rule. They had been best friends for such a long time, slipping into something more was an easy transition.

 _Largo_ started to play, the cue that the wedding was going to start and interrupted Betty from her musings about Jughead. His younger sister, Jellybean started down the aisle first, a look of concentration on her face as she tried not to trip over her long bridesmaid dress. She stayed completely focused on her father while she counted the steps under her breath. She was followed by Mary Andrews, who had agreed to take Alice’s place at the last minute. Veronica came third, looking like she had just stepped off the pages of a wedding magazine.

The doors closed when Veronica took her place across from Jughead and the Bridal Chorus started to play. Everybody in the church rose as Hermione started to walk down the aisle in a dress Alice had especially designed for her wedding.

Betty turned to steal a glance at FP. There was a look on his face, one filled with something she had never seen in all the years of knowing him. A look of such true love that it stole her breath away for a second. It didn’t look like something a person could fake.

Hermione stopped at the foot of the aisle and FP went to retrieve her, together they walked the last steps to the priest.

He looked around at the gathered guests and took a deep breath. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Forsythe Pendleton Jones the II and Hermione Appolonia Lodge in holy matrimony.”

**.**

“Wasn’t the ceremony lovely?” Mary asked as they all sat around the table, waiting for the bride and groom to be done taking pictures with their families.

“It’ll never last,” Alice answered. “FP will inevitably screw his younger, cuter secretary as soon as he gets the opportunity. All men are the same and FP is the _worst_. Don’t pretend I’m not right, he had a different girl every week until he set his sights on Hermione.”

“The love of a good woman,” Mary commented as she poured Alice a glass of champagne and handed it to her. “Come on and cheer up, Alice. This is supposed to be a celebration.”

Alice took her rings off and dumped them into her glass. “To the end of my marriage,” she toasted tartly.

“Mom, I told you not to do this here!” Betty pleaded.

“Your mother’s understandably upset,” Fred told her. “She devoted 20 years of her life to your father and he left her for another woman.”

“ _But_ Elizabeth is right,” Mary interjected. “This isn’t the time or place to have a pity party. What do you say we eat a couple of appetizers, wish the bride and groom good luck and then go back to your place for a little wine and a moan? I’m sure Betty will be just fine here.”

“I’ll make sure she gets home,” Fred assured them.

Mary nodded and looked at Alice. “So, what do you say?

Alice shook her head. “I want to get out of her as soon as possible,” she finally replied.

Betty was equal parts annoyed with her mother and relieved to see her go. She was annoyed because Alice was incapable of making anything about other people. She was relieved because she was tired of seeing her mother mope and make disparaging comments every opportunity she got.

She sighed and looked around for somebody else to talk to. But Archie was on his phone and Veronica and Jughead were still taking family pictures. She got up and went to the bar and ordered a Shirley Temple with extra cherries.

When she turned around, Jellybean, Jughead, and Veronica were all coming into the ballroom.

Veronica and Jellybean came over to her immediately while Jughead went to see Archie.

“It just occurred to me,” Veronica said as she took Betty’s drink and sipped it. “Jughead is my brother now.”

“I know,” Betty answered. “Could I have another Shirley Temple, please? So, what does it matter if Jughead’s your brother now?”

“I’m just saying. . . things are about to get interesting,” Veronica replied. “Gosh, B. Why do you even bother drinking this? It’s _disgusting_!”

Jughead came over and draped his arm across Betty’s shoulder, causing Veronica to raise an eyebrow as she caught the straw in her mouth again.

“It’s almost time for the big speech,” Veronica said. “Are you ready?”

“Almost,” Jughead answered.

“If you get anxious, I am _sure_ you can look at Elizabeth. She’ll be sitting in the front row, cheering you on.”

“Veronica, please. . .” Betty pleaded. “Could you just _not_?”

She put her hand up. “I’m done. I’m _done_! If you two would excuse me, I’m going to beg Archie for a dance!”

Betty turned to look at Jughead. “So, how are you really feeling?”

“I’m ready for this day to be over,” Jughead answered. “I wish it were just the two of us right now.”

Betty bit her lip and hesitated for a second. “What if you came to Paris with me this summer? It wouldn’t be just the two of us. . . but. . . I think we could arrange some time just for the two of us. You have nothing to lose. JB is going to be with your mother in the Hamptons and Veronica is dragging Archie to Spain. Your dad and new stepmother will be on a 3 month honeymoon.”

“You know, I don’t mind being by myself that much. It’s going to be an adjustment living with people,” Jughead told her. “Veronica and Hermione. . . they’re kind of trying to introduce the concept of being an actual family.”

“Well then, coming with me to Paris would be good practice!” Betty said cheerfully as she tucked her arm in his. “Come on, dinner’s about to be served. It’s probably been hours since your last meal and I know how much you hate waiting to eat.”

“Yes,” Jughead answered, distractedly. “You seem to know me better than anyone else.”

**.**

“So, you’re really going to seal the deal with Betty?” Archie inquired, cornering him in the men’s bathroom.

“I have no idea what you mean by _seal the deal_ ,” Jughead said.

“You always said Betty was the kind of girl who was a one and done. Once somebody got together with her, there was no turning back, she’s forever. So, are you just sleeping with her or are you playing for keeps?”

Jughead’s heart rate accelerated a little bit. “Did I say that?” he asked uneasily.

“You did!” Archie confirmed. “We were in 8th grade and she brought s’mores cookies for the Valentine’s Day party. We all knew she had made them herself instead of going to a bakery like everybody else. Come on man! Are you going to ask her to be your girlfriend or not?

Jughead sighed. “We’re just having a good time right now.”

“Words I never thought I would hear you say. I heard she asked you to go to Paris with her this summer. What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.” Jughead washed his hands. “Honestly, I still have no clue what I’m going to do. This could be my last summer of freedom before my dad comes home and tries to make us a patched together family.”

“You do realize you’re going to be here alone all summer,” Archie reminded him. “What are you going to ever do all by yourself?”

“Enjoy a little peace and quiet,” he retorted as he steered Archie out of the restroom and back to the reception. “What are you going to do in Spain with my step-sister all summer? Try and finally persuade her that it would be a good idea to date you?”

Archie smiled sheepishly. “You know how I feel about her. Maybe this is finally our chance.”

Jughead looked at his blonde best friend, who was consuming another Shirley Temple, and wondered how Archie could be so certain about Veronica when the thought of actually getting closer to Betty terrified him.

“It’s time for your best man speech!” Veronica informed him. “Everybody’s waiting for you.”

Archie gave him a thumbs up and one of his most obnoxious smiles. Jughead reached for his index cards in the pocket of his suit jacket and walked over to the mic. He cleared his throat and glanced around the room, his eyes landed on Betty on their own accord and all his carefully planned words left him.

“Sometimes you find love in unexpected places,” he started out by saying. “It could be with your first love, the person you never thought you’d see again and then one day there they were. Back in your life like they had never left. Sometimes it could be with your best friend, the person who is there by your side every single day and you don’t know anything’s changed until you’re in the middle of it.

“Sometimes, like is the case with my father and Hermione, you reconnect with an old classmate at a school reunion and you realize life has given you a lot more in common than you could have ever imagined. . .”

He rambled on, not really sure of what he was saying but certain people liked it because they laughed, awed, and clapped in all the right places.

When it was over, the music started to play. Jughead tossed back his champagne, swallowed, and then went over to Betty.

“Let’s dance,” he said.

“Alright,” she agreed.

“If I went to Paris with you, what would it look like?” he asked as they swayed to the music.

“What would you want it to look like?”

Jughead released a deep breath. “I don’t know. We could take it slow though.”

Betty smiled at him. “Slow is good,” she assured him.

**.**

“You’re so tense B!” Veronica commented as she tossed her a gauzy purple sundress. “Are you really nervous about going to Paris with Jughead for the summer?”

“No. . . not really. . . I mean. . .” Betty trailed off and grabbed a pair of Tory Burch sandals from her walk-in closet. “We’ve traveled places together before. It’s different this time though. We’re going as something _more_ this summer. But I’m more excited than I am nervous.”

“I don’t want to know everything,” Veronica told her. “Jughead’s practically my brother now, it would be weird to know the details.”

Betty smiled. “Since when have I told you details about the most personal parts of my life?”

Veronica nodded. “That’s a good point.”

“What about you? Are you excited to go to Spain with Archie?”

“I think that it’s going to be an interesting experience,” Veronica answered. “We’ve been dancing on the edge of something for so long. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen when we’re away from the city. I’m not sure but I think it’s going to be good.”

“I’ll be wishing you luck from Paris,” Betty told her, pausing her packing to give her a hug.

“I’ll be wishing you luck from Spain,” Veronica replied.

**.**

“So, France with the Cooper siblings,” FP said, handing Jughead a glass of orange juice and champagne. “I’ve got to say I’m impressed. Elizabeth is the kind of girl you could have a future with. She would look good on your arm at a Jones-Andrews function. You could do a lot worse, you know.”

Jughead felt the same fear in the pit of his stomach that he’d been experiencing the whole week. They had gone from casual to having a future together in a matter of minutes and he wasn’t sure he could handle it.

He had never been good at relationships. He hadn’t ever been good at loving anyone. He was sure as soon as he really let her get closer to him, if he opened up to her then she would go running in the opposite direction as fast as she could. They wouldn’t even be friends anymore, if that happened there was no way Archie and Veronica would choose _him_ over her.

He made a split second decision to go anywhere else but Paris that summer. He would just get online and book a ticket on a random continent, in a random country far, far away from her. He just hoped Betty would understand and would be able to forgive him one day for what he was about to do to her.

**.**

“He’s not coming, Elizabeth!” Polly said impatiently. “We have to go! Just because the jet’s private, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a schedule it needs to keep to.”

Betty sighed and picked up her Louis Vuitton carry-on bag. “You’re right. Let’s just get out of here.”

“We can see if we can get the pilot to wait a little bit longer,” Chic said, sympathetically.

Betty shook her head. “No. He’s not coming. Polly’s right, we should just go.”

“Betty, are you sure?” Chic checked. “He could have just run into traffic. You know how it can be in the summer, everybody’s trying to get out of here.”

“We’ve waited long enough. Let’s just go. The sooner we get out of here, the better. I just want to get away.”

**TBC. . .**

**.**


	2. Chapter 2 Summertime Wonderful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ShibbyCat, peoniesandbooks5, lilibug, sarann91, breathewords, and Huy thank you for reviewing.

**.**

**Chapter 2 Summer Kind of Wonderful**

Betty was dreading going back to New York City. She had spent most of the summer moping around Paris after unsuccessfully trying to get in touch with Jughead. Nothing could make her feel better, not even the custom dress she had gotten made at Chanel or Jenny’s daily macaron runs.

She felt so completely foolish for ever getting involved with Jughead. She was his best friend, she knew him well enough to know words like _commitment_ and _love_ were enough for him to break out in hives. He was a notoriously good runner when anything got a little too serious for his taste.

She wanted to forget the day she had drank a little too much at Cheryl Blossom’s party and then tumbled into bed with him. She wanted to completely forget the lapses in judgement she had had in the following days. It had ended with her offering Jughead her heart and getting it completely pulverized. It had resulted in her acting like just like her mother. But instead of listening to Carole King and Carly Simon on repeat, she had drowned her sorrows in Taylor Swift songs and Audrey Hepburn movies and washed them down with Shirley Temples and vodka.

Polly had finally insisted she start going out at least once a day or she would send her home to their mother where they could mope together. Betty hadn’t had any desire to go back to New York. She didn’t want her mother to grill her about her father and Jenny, and she most definitely didn’t want to possibly run into Jughead in Central Park.

So, she had forced herself to go out every single day. She didn’t enjoy herself but she wasn’t annoying Polly by sitting around anymore.

Her father’s girlfriend was surprisingly sympathetic. She was the best at tea and sympathy, and shopping. Thanks to her, Betty was going home with a whole new wardrobe from the best boutiques in France.

But now it was almost the end of the summer and the only thing she had to face Jughead with was a suitcase full of designer shoes and skirts. The French boys had been pretty but she hadn’t been paying attention to any of them. She hated that Jughead had wormed her way into his heart and there was no way to get him out of it.

“Stop fidgeting!” Polly hissed as Betty sighed and squirmed in her seat, trying to get more comfortable.

“She’s probably just anxious about seeing Jughead again,” Chic said helpfully. “Hermione’s the one hosting the white party, after all and she is his stepmom.”

Polly rolled her eyes. “You do realize the quickest way to ruin a relationship is to have sex with your best friend. Right, Betty?”

“I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner,” Chic muttered as he opened his Harvard catalogue and started to scan through the courses. “If I’m being honest, I prefer him over _Jason_.”

“At least Jason showed up this summer. That’s more than I can say for—”

“Oh, will you just shut up, Polly!?” Chic snapped. “Try and be a little sympathetic.”

Betty sighed and put her headphones in and opened the newest Sara Shepherd novel, but she was having trouble getting into it. All she could think about how she was going to see Jughead in less than 24 hours and how she wished that she had something more to show for her summer abroad than a new handbag.

She could only imagine the kind of girl that _he_ was going to parade in front of her. She had to find somebody to show that she didn’t care and that she didn’t spend her summer pining for him. But she didn’t think she would be lucky enough to meet that person on a plane to the Hamptons.

**.**

“You have a lot of nervous energy this morning,” Hermione commented as Jughead paced around the kitchen.

“Betty’s coming home today,” Jellybean told her helpfully.

“Oh, I see,” Hermione said as she poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. “So, you’ve been in touch with her then?”

“Don’t make me laugh, mother!” Veronica inserted as she came into the kitchen. “Jughead hasn’t been in touch with her _at all_ these last 3 months. He’s going to have to do a lot of groveling when he sees her.”

“I will have you know, _sis_ that I plan to!” Jughead retorted. “I’m going to meet her at the jitney tonight and apologize to her for standing her up this summer.”

“You’re lucky that Betty’s a pretty forgiving girl,” Hermione told him.

“That’s for sure!” Jellybean piped in. “If _I_ were Betty, I don’t think I could _ever_ forgive you.”

“I certainly couldn’t!” Veronica added.

Hermione sighed and shook her head. “Well, it’s a good thing Forsythe isn’t asking the _two_ of _you_ for forgiveness!” she turned to Jughead. “I hope it goes well for you this evening.”

“Thank you,” Jughead said sincerely while Veronica rolled her eyes.

“I’m going to see Archie,” she told her mother. “We’re going to do a little shopping for the party tomorrow.”

“You didn’t do enough shopping while you were overseas?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Can one _ever_ do enough shopping, mother?” Veronica asked as she lifted her purse off the counter and smiled.

“She just wants to see Archie,” Jellybean whispered as Veronica clicked away on her high heels.

Hermione sighed. “I know.” she smiled at her. “Come on, let’s go and get some breakfast in town.”

Jellybean’s face lit up. “I’ll go and change!” she said.

“Do you want to come with us?” Hermione asked Jughead.

He shook his head. “I think I’ll just stay in.”

“Come on. Sitting around the beach house isn’t going to make the time go by any faster. We can go to Pierre’s, if you’d like. It’ll be better than watching the minutes tick by until Betty gets here.”

Jughead knew she was right and his grumbling stomach was a reminder that he hadn’t eaten since the night before. A side-effect of anticipating Betty’s impending homecoming. He had never not been able to eat before, his lack of appetite was shocking and unenjoyable.

“I guess I’ll go and change too,” Jughead said as he got up from the island.

“Wonderful,” Hermione replied, smiling at him.

**.**

“When’s dad going to come home?” Jellybean asked as caught strawberry lemonade on her tongue with her straw, some dribbled on her neon pink Lilly Pulitzer dress and she brushed the drops away without a second thought.

“He should be finished with his business matters in Beijing next week,” Hermione answered. “I talked to him this morning and he said he wished he could be here but—”

“Duty calls,” Jellybean finished for her, sighing. “Yeah, I know.”

“He says that every summer,” Jughead informed Hermione. “We’ll spend our summers here in the Hamptons or in Nantucket and he’ll be globetrotting, because _duty calls_.

“It’s why our mother left him,” Jellybean added. “She said she felt like the mistress in our father’s marriage to his company.”

Jughead choked on his coffee and then cleared his throat. “JB, I don’t think that’s really _polite_ brunch conversation and it’s _definitely_ not something you need to tell our new stepmother!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Hermione said. “Veronica has said _a lot_ worse to me than that.”

“So, what are you going to do to change Betty’s mind?” Jellybean asked, changing the subject with rapid fire succession. “You can’t just show up at the jitney, empty-handed and apologetic. You need to get her something. . . like a Beauty & the Beast level library or—!”

“ _Flowers_ would suffice,” Hermione interjected. “And maybe wearing your heart on your sleeve, a little. Girls love it when you’re bald-faced honest with them. A little vulnerability would go a long way.”

Jughead was dreading that part. He had never been good at being vulnerable and he hadn’t been able to come up with any pretty speeches to give her when he did see her again. There was no explanation, no apology good enough he could give her. He hoped just showing up would be enough for her to see how truly sorry he was for not showing up at the airport earlier that summer.

**.**

“Home at last,” Chic commented as he puffed out his chest and breathed in deeply. “Ah. I wish we could have been here all summer.”

Polly rolled her eyes as she followed him off the jitney. “You’re such a faker! You loved every second in Paris.

“You can enjoy something and be homesick at the same time,” Chic replied, turning around to make sure Betty was behind them. “You good, sis?”

Betty sighed and looked around, not sure what she was looking for. It was most certainly not Jughead, she knew he wouldn’t be waiting for her. Even though there was a small part of her that hoped he would be. She thought maybe she could forgive him for murder if he was there.

But he wasn’t.

She sighed and collected her bags then followed her brother and sister to the town car their mother had ordered for them.

She didn’t know why she still counted on him to do anything, to be more than he was. He only disappointed her.

**.**

Jughead saw her get off the jitney in a rumpled skirt and blouse. All his courage to go see her disappeared. His heart skipped a beat while he watched her, looking sadder than the last time he had seen her.

He knew he was responsible for the look on her face and somehow _that_ scared him even more. After he got down on his knees and begged her to forgive him for breaking her heart, the power would be in her hands and he didn’t deserve to be in her good graces ever again.

He hesitated for too long because the next thing she knew, she was getting into a car with her siblings. He chucked the orchids into the nearest trash barrel and ran away as fast as he could, almost tripping over his feet in his haste to get as far away from her as possible.

Jughead knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid her forever because she would eventually make her way over to see Veronica and with the luck he had been having, he would be there when it happened.

**.**

Jughead watched Betty walk up the gravel driveway the next morning and wondered if anybody would notice if he escaped down the rose trellis when Veronica barged into his bedroom.

“Listen, Betty’s here! Unless you actually went through seeing her last night, I would appreciate if you didn’t ruin or reunion by showing up at brunch to eat my food and drink my champagne under the guise of being hungry!”

Jughead got up from his window seat and pulled a button down sweater on. “Don’t worry, I’ll go to the library and catch up on my reading.”

“Good!” Veronica said, folding her arms across her chest. “Maybe you should go out through the kitchen.”

“You do know we’re all going to be at the same party tonight,” Jughead told her. “Maybe I should just get seeing her over with. So it won’t be awkward and ruin your mother’s party.”

Veronica huffed. “You’re so annoying. You know that right?”

Jughead sighed. “You like to remind me about that on a daily basis,” he answered.

“Well as long as you _know_ ,” Veronica said. “Anyways, I don’t know how exactly how Betty is feeling right now. I want to see if she’s okay before I let you guys see each other.”

“What do you think we’re going to do?” Jughead asked. “Have a _War of the Roses_ level battle?”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Could you just leave? Please?”

Jughead grabbed the book he was working through and sighed.  “Fine. I’m gone.”

“I’ll text you when you can come back,” Veronica told him as she followed him out of the bedroom.

“You’re too kind,” Jughead said as they took the stairs together and then went off in opposite directions.

It didn’t stop him from peering into the window for a second to get a glimpse at Betty before leaving. She was wearing a shift dress in a fish print and her hair was pulled into a low bun at the nape of her neck, she was absolutely stunning. He sighed half-heartedly and hurried on his way when he saw Veronica glaring at him through the sheer curtains.

He stayed away as long as he could and then went back before Veronica texted him. He couldn’t resist, something inside him needed to at least say _hello_ to Betty. It had been a long time since he had heard her voice, he felt like he had been going through a drought. He hadn’t ever gone a very long time without any sort of communication with her.

He ran into Archie on his way back up to the beach house and he was thankful even though he knew Veronica would still get angry at her in front of their friends. She never let an audience stop her from putting on a Broadway musical level performance of ire.

Jughead let Archie in and together they went to the little sunroom.

“What are you doing here?” Veronica asked, putting down her large latte cup and folding her arms across her chest.

“I came to see my favorite person in the world,” Archie answered charmingly, grinning at her.

“I wasn’t talking about _you_ babe,” Veronica said. “ _Forsythe_ , I told you _not_ to come home until I texted.”

Jughead shrugged. “You can’t tell me what to do. This isn’t _your_ home,” he reminded her. “You can’t tell me when I can come and go.”

“It’s okay,” Betty interjected, looking anywhere but at him. “You don’t have to go anywhere Jughead.”

“ _You’re_ not leaving, are you B?” Veronica asked.

“I need to go and get ready for the party tonight,” Betty answered as she stood up and put her shoes back on. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Betts—” Jughead said despite not knowing what he was going to say next.

There was so much tension in the room, Archie and Veronica exchanged terse looks. His step-sister looked like she was ready to pounce and defend Betty if need be.

“I’m fine Jughead,” Betty assured him. “I just really have to go. I’ll see you later.”

**.**

Betty bid everybody goodbye and hurried away before they could stop her. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Veronica wasn’t following her, she was so sick of her coddling her and asking if she was _really_ alright every 5 minutes.

It had taken everything in her to snap that she had gotten her heartbroken, not been stricken with cancer. But Veronica wouldn’t have listened and she would have continued right on fussing and making jabs about Jughead.

The last thing she wanted Veronica to do was have problems with somebody she had to live with every single day for the foreseeable future.

But her best friend had the tendency to hate fiercely and Jughead had the great misfortune to be in the crossfires. Betty believed he deserved _something_ for standing her up. . . just not Veronica’s open hostility.

She couldn’t even process Jughead’s sudden reappearance in her life because she was worried about the way Veronica was treating him. She messaged her to ceasefire that she was okay, and walked the rest of the distance to her beach house.

When she got home, her mother was outside in her garden, humming contentedly as she pulled weeds from out around the roses.

“Hi honey,” Alice said, smiling at her. “Did you enjoy brunch with Veronica?”

“I did,” Betty answered, sitting down in one of the lounge chairs and kicking her shoes off. “Veronica’s coddling me though.”

Alice pulled her gloves off and tossed them into a basket along with the spade she was holding. “Coddling you? Why?”

Betty sighed. “Because of Jughead abandoning me this summer.”

“She does understand you weren’t alone, right? You were with your siblings, your father. Your father’s whore.”

“Jenny,” Betty corrected. “Mom, you promised you would start calling her by her name.”

“I forgot,” Alice said innocently. “Would you like some lemonade or iced tea? One of those Shirley Temples you love so much?”

“I’m fine,” Betty replied. “Do you have anything for Shirley Temples?”

“I am well prepared for your homecoming,” Alice answered.

“Where’s Polly and Chic?” Betty followed her mom into the house.

“Jason showed up late last night, so Polly’s with him. I think Charles is getting a head start on his college studies. They’ll all be back in time for Hermione’s party tonight though.”

Betty took a maraschino cherry from the bowl on Alice’s rollaway cart. “Mom, you’re in a much better mood than when we left at the beginning of summer. What’s going on?”

“I had a good summer,” was all Alice said as she poured a glass of iced tea and added a lemon wedge. “What are you going to wear tonight? Did you get anything good while you were in Paris?”

Betty shrugged. “Jenny took me to a lot of nice places but I couldn’t begin to tell you what she convinced me to buy.”

“I’m sure it’s all lovely. Jenny has wonderful taste,” Alice said reluctantly.

“Did you experience an alien abduction while we were gone?” Betty asked.

Alice laughed and shook her head. “Don’t be so dramatic, Elizabeth. Tell me what happened when you saw Forysthe again for the first time since before you went to Paris.”

“I couldn’t even look at him,” Betty admitted as she caved and made herself a Shirley Temple. She sat down in the armchair next to her mother’s.

“He owes you an explanation.”

“I know. But what if he says something I don’t like? I think the not knowing is better than hearing whatever he has to say.” even though that was a lie, she did want to know what Jughead had to say for himself.

“I think knowing has to be better than not knowing,” Alice said. “You should talk to him, don’t let him give you any excuses to avoid you and not tell you what happened. Anyways, I’m going to get a blowout for tonight. I’ll see you later, try and rest easy.”

 _My mom’s acting weird_ , Betty texted Archie after Alice had left. _Ask your mom what’s going on._

 _My mom says to mind my own business,_ Archie texted back after a few minutes.

Betty sighed and opened the door to her walk-in closet, her dress for the white party was airing out. She pulled it down and held it up to her, wondering if it would be the thing to get Jughead to say things to her that she had only dreamed about.

She laid it out on her bed and then went to take a bath and get ready.

**.**

Jughead’s heart stopped beating when he saw her coming up the gravel walkway with her mom, sister, and Jason Blossom. She was stunning in a white, a-line dress with a floaty skirt. He felt unworthy just to be in her presence and all he wanted to do was be on her arm the whole night.

Veronica came up behind him in a bodycon dress and crossed her arms across her chest. “Stop staring!” she ordered.

“I wasn’t,” Jughead replied, not taking his eyes off Betty for a second.

“You’re just going to embarrass yourself,” Veronica informed him. “She can’t even look at you, you do realize that. Right?”

Jughead sighed. “I blame myself. I know I shouldn’t have left her behind and I regret it. Okay? Are you happy?”

“I’m still going to introduce her to Nick,” Veronica said. “I think he’s just what Betty needs to get over you.”

Before Jughead could protest, Veronica stalked off and went over to Betty, slinking her arm through her’s.

For the first time in months, Jughead and Betty’s eyes met. He found he was having difficulty breathing, looking at her with Ariana Grande thrumming in his veins. He found he was holding his breath.

He released it and started to walk towards them but Veronica had already grabbed Nick and was introducing him to Betty.

His heart sank. He knew Nick by reputation, he liked girls who hadn’t made their way into his bed. He knew how to party and have a good time, Betty was the perfect target for him. Especially since she was on the short list of people who hadn’t fallen for his charms yet.

He sighed heavily and went to the bar to get a drink.

**.**

Before Betty even knew what was happening, she had agreed to leave the party and get dinner with Veronica, Archie, and Nick St. Cloud. A boy she knew by reputation only, but she knew why her friend had introduced him.

She would go along with it but she wouldn’t go through with whatever it is Veronica wanted her to.

“Betty!” Jughead called, rushing up to her and grabbing her by the elbow. “I wish you wouldn’t go.”

“Oh come on Jughead,” Betty said, stepping backwards. “You haven’t talked to me in months and now you’re demanding I stay here?”

“I’m not demanding anything. I just don’t want you to go.”

Betty sighed. “Jughead. . . you need to give me a reason to stay.”

Jughead frowned. “A reason? What are you talking about?”

Betty exhaled. “I need you to tell me why you want me to stay and _because_ isn’t a reason. Eight letters, three words. Say it and I’m yours.”

Jughead hesitated long enough for her to smile sadly at him. She reached out to squeeze his hand.

“Thank you,” she said, getting into Veronica’s car as she drove up. “I’ll talk to you later, Jug.”

**TBC. . .**

**.**  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty please tell me what you thought about this if you have the time or if you’d like to. I would love to hear your thoughts! I know this is a little angsty from the get go, but if you’ve seen season 2 of Gossip Girl then you know you are in for a bumpy ride. Strap in, it’s about to get crazy! Chapter title comes from episode 2x01 of Gossip Girl, naturally.
> 
> Until Next Time!


	3. Chapter 3 the Dogs Days of Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peoniesanbooks5, vamp19762000, tinnie, and Leahk1234

**.**

**Chapter 3 the Dog Days of Summer**

“Do you really think this is a good idea?”  Archie asked as he slurped his beer. 

“Do I think _what’s_ a good idea?”  Betty watched Veronica and Nick dance together on the pier.

“Getting together with Nick St.  Cloud?”  Archie clarified.  “If you’re looking for a committed relationship, you’re not going to get it from Nick.”

“I don’t want anything from Nick,” Betty assured him.  “In fact, I’m only here right now because I was trying to make a statement.”

“A statement?” Archie repeated.  “What kind of statement were you trying to make exactly?”

“That I’m not at Jughead’s beck and call.  .  .  that he needs to do something to earn my respect and affection.  I’m not just going to allow him to just .  .  .  to just—”

“Come on you two!” Veronica called.  “The dancing’s great!”

“We’re being summoned,” Betty said, thankful for the distraction as she grabbed him by the hand.

“Wait,” Archie interjected.  “Finish what you’re going to say.  You’re not going to allow him to do just _what_?”

Betty shook her head.  Archie was a notorious gossip, a habit he had picked up from Veronica over the years.  She was always careful with what she told him, she wouldn’t put it past him to go and blurt out how she was feeling to Jughead.  She wanted him to come to his own conclusions, to make his own decisions without the help of anyone else.

She could just picture Archie telling Jughead that he needed to say he loved her.

He would either say it because he wanted to sleep with her again or he would resent her for inadvertently getting Archie involved.  

Neither situation was favorable.

“Come on! Let’s dance!” Betty said, tugging Archie to the dance floor as a remix of _the Mother We Share_ started to play.

“There you are,” Veronica addressed Archie as she put her arms around him and moved against him.

“So, Betty,” Nick said, as Archie and Veronica got lost in their own little world,  “Did you have a good summer?”

“It was fine,” Betty answered vaguely.  

“Did you do anything fun?”

Betty shook her head.  “Don’t try and get to know me, Nick.  Your reputation precedes you and I am not at all interested.”

“Veronica told me about what happened with your friend.” Nick reached out and rubbed her arm with his pointer finger.  “I could help you get over him.”

Betty put some distance in between them.  “I can get over him myself, thank you very much.”

Nick gave her a boyish grin.  “Well, if you ever change your mind, I’ll be here and my offer won’t have an expiration date.”

“Thank you,” Betty said, wishing she had never left the party.  She would have rather dealt with Jughead than Nick’s swagger, she wondered what Veronica had been thinking trying to set her up with him.

Despite the couple of times she had hooked up with Jughead, she didn’t _do_ flings.  She didn’t think mindless sex was the prescription to get over a broken heart and she certainly knew Nick wasn’t as good as he thought he was.  

She had the steely resolve not to be another notch in his bedpost.  

“I have to use the restroom,” she told him.

He let her go without protest and when she returned, she was relieved to see Nick was flirting with a busty platinum blonde.  She felt like she had been reprieved of something as she went back to the bar and sat down.  She just hoped Veronica and Archie wouldn’t forget she was there, she didn’t want to call her mother (or _worse_ , Polly) and explain what had happened and why she had left.

She didn’t know what her mother’s reaction would be but she certainly could see Polly rolling her eyes and berating her for being stupid and trying to get back at Jughead.  Chic was fully committed to his studies and now that they were back in New York, she couldn’t get his head out of a book no matter how hard she tried.

She just wanted to call a Lyft and go home but she had promised Veronica that she would have a sleepover with her like they did at the end of every summer.  

She sighed and ordered a white wine spritzer, sipping it slowly while she watched Archie and Veronica bump and grind on the dance floor while she felt the same kind of Paris loneliness bloom in her chest.

She realized, being alone was better than Nick trying to take her to bed.  But it wasn’t better than the relationship she had had with Jughead before they had slept together.  She wished she could get those days back but at the same time, she didn’t want to go back to not knowing how she felt about him.

She ordered another drink and sighed, just waiting for Veronica and Archie to be ready to leave.  Nick was the first person to find her, with the same busty blonde he was flirting with draped over his arm.

“Hey, if Ronnie ever surfaces long enough to ask where I am, would you tell her that I made friends with Olga and not to worry about me? I’ll text her later on this weekend.”

Betty swallowed and nodded.  “I’ll be sure to pass the message on,” she answered.  “Have fun.”

Nick winked at her.  “Oh, I’m sure I will.  Later, Betts.”

“Don’t call me Betts,” she mumbled as he disappeared.

In the wee small hours of the morning, Veronica decided she had finally had enough dancing and EDM.  They dropped Archie off at his house first and made their way back to the Lodge-Jones seaside mansion.

Betty was quiet the whole time, a combination of a heavy heart and too much to drink.  Veronica chatted enough for the both of them, gushing about Archie and filling her in about what had happened over the summer.  

She didn’t notice that her best friend didn’t have much to say, happy for a seemingly captive audience.  Betty didn’t register anything she was saying, she didn’t register anything much at all except for the rejection that was pressing heavily on her shoulders.

When they stumbled through the front door, everything was quiet and dark.  Except for Jughead, sitting alone in the sitting room with a glass of something fizzy on the table next to him and a book in his hand.  

“Mom was wondering where you went,” he addressed Veronica.  “She thought it was very rude for you to leave all your guests.  Don’t worry, I covered for you like a good brother.”

“You’re not my brother!” Veronica retorted.  “And my mother is certainly not _your_ mom!”

“Can we just go to bed?” Betty pleaded, not in the mood to listen to Veronica be nasty or to hear Jughead’s voice.

“Sure Betty,” Veronica answered.  “Let’s go.”

**.**

Jughead watched them leave, he could tell Betty was a little tipsy and he wanted to rebuke Veronica for taking her out with _Nick St. Cloud_ of all people.  

But he had lost all boyfriend rights when he hadn’t said the one thing Betty had wanted him to say.

He got the feeling that the alcohol consumption had more to do with him than with Nick.  He had to give her more credit than _that_.  Her standards were too high.  Besides, he didn’t think she would throw herself at another guy hours after she had asked _him_ to say he loved her.  She wouldn’t do it even if she was trying to spite him or make him jealous.  It was far from her style.  She had always been the kind of girl who quite literally wore the heart on her sleeve.  He had always been able to tell what she was thinking but now her thoughts were murkier than his own.

“You’re still awake?” Hermione asked as she came down the stairs.  

“I was just waiting for the girls to get home,” Jughead answered.

Hermione smiled knowingly.  “Making sure Betty was okay?”

Jughead sighed.  “I messed up, Hermione.”

“I just got off the phone with your father, there’s no way I’m going to be sleeping for a while.  Why don’t you tell me about it over hot chocolate? No judgement passed, I did a lot worse when I was your age.  Trust me.”

“We don’t keep hot chocolate around here,” Jughead told her.  

“Okay, you can have seltzer water and I’ll have something a little stronger,” Hermione said.

“Dad’s not coming home?”

Hermione shook her head and went over to the bar.  “Not yet.  He’s got some business deals he has to finish taking care of.  I’ll probably fly out to see him after you, Veronica, and Jellybean start school.  He wants me to come sooner but I told him there was no way I could miss the start of your senior year.”

“You trust that he’s just doing business and not on some opioid bender with prostitutes and some of his co-workers?”

“Yes,” Hermione answered as she poured a glass of red wine and opened a fresh bottle of Perrier.  “I know about your father’s recreational drug use and that he changed girlfriends the way Veronica changes shoes but I trust that he put at least one of those things behind him when we got married.  So, what’s this thing you did?”

Jughead took a sip of the drink she had given him and wished it was laced with scotch or  something.  He swirled the ice around contemplatively.  “Betty asked me to say I loved her,” he finally confessed, surprised at how relieved he felt when the words left his mouth.

Hermione raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.  “Oh really?”

“You can imagine how I reacted.  .  .  what I _didn’t_ do,” Jughead said.  

“I’m sure she wouldn’t have left with Veronica and _Nick St. Cloud_ if you had said what she wanted you to say,” Hermione replied.  “So, do you love her?”

He shrugged.  He wasn’t even sure what love was except for all the descriptions he had read in the pages of his books.

“If you love her, you need to let her know it’s not fair to you or her to not say it.”

Jughead didn’t know how to react, he hadn’t ever had a parental figure so invested in his life.  Sure, Fred and Mary had been involved here and there, but it was making sure they had a place to go and their homework was done when FP had been out of town.

“I don’t know how to do this,” he admitted.

“Do what?” Hermione asked.

“I don’t know how to do any of it,” Jughead replied.  “We’re not the family type.”

“Mijo, no one on the Upper East Side is the family type.  But I’m here and I’m willing to try and be a family with you and your sister.”

Jughead sighed heavily.  “Okay.  I don’t know how to love people.  I’m not even sure I do a good job of it with FP and Jellybean.”

“If that’s what’s keeping you from telling her that you love her then you just need to get over _that_.  Love is one of those things you’re not going to be good at.  You’re going to mess up and you’re going to do things your partner doesn’t like sometimes.  But you have to apologize, move past it, and not hold it against them.  I highly doubt Betty’s sitting around holding things against you.  She might not be receptive to you right now but that’s to be expected.”

“I don’t think I can ever give her what she wants.”

Hermione sipped her wine thoughtfully.  “We’re always growing and changing.  One day you might be able to grow into somebody perfectly capable of giving her everything she needs _and_ wants.”

Jughead couldn’t find the voice to tell her that she was wrong.

**.**

When Betty woke up the next morning, she was dreading going downstairs and facing Jughead after their exchange the night before.  She couldn’t look him in the eyes knowing he didn’t love her.

Hermione waltzed into the room with a tray of food.  “I thought it would be a good idea for you to have breakfast in bed today.  I had the cook make up all your favorites.  There’s nothing a good cup of coffee and chocolate waffles can’t fix.  Where’s my daughter?”

Betty sat up and rubbed her eyes, the night before was a mess of hazy memories.  All she could remember with vivid clarity was the way Jughead looked, the hesitation in his face before he didn’t say anything.  There was a foggy recollection of Archie showing up and begging Veronica to go out with him.

They were in the honeymoon stages of their relationship, Betty felt a pang of jealousy stab at her heart but she fought it bravely.

“I think she went out with Archie,” Betty said, finding her voice.

Hermione made a face and shook her head before putting the tray down on the bed and taking a seat.  “How are you?”

Betty knew she knew what had happened.  Veronica had mentioned with some sort of disgust that Jughead had adopted Hermione as the mother that he had never had.  

She shook her head, sure if she said anything than she would start to cry again.  Hermione could tell she was upset, so she put her arms around her and stroked her hair gently.

“I’m sorry,” Betty finally said.

“It’s fine,” Hermione assured her.  “Eat your breakfast and then take a shower.  I’ll take you home.  .  .” she trailed off.  “Oh wait, do you mind staying here for a little bit? I’ll send Forsythe away or you, me and Forsythia can go sit on the beach for a while and soak up some last of the August sun before September gets here.”

For a second, the heartache Betty was feeling evaporated.  “Hermione, what’s going on?” she asked.  “Is my mother okay?”

“Mmmh?” Hermione hummed as she got up and flung back the curtains.  “Oh, your mother’s fine, dear! Everything’s alright.  Don’t worry about it.  I’m sure she’ll tell you about it when she’s ready to let you know what’s going on.”

Betty reached for the tray Hermione had brought her and cut into the waffle, eyeing her mother’s best friend suspiciously.  She almost looked blissful, so she was pretty sure her mother hadn’t been stricken with cancer or something equally as horrible.

She chewed her waffle and tried to push the stress away from everything in her life.  She looked at Hermione.  “You know, a day at the beach sounds lovely.”

**.**

Jughead wandered onto the beach and saw his sister, Hermione, and Betty all lying out in the sun.  

He almost turned around to go back to the house because he knew he was the last person Betty wanted to see.  But then he knew they couldn’t avoid each other forever, school would be starting soon.  He was one fourth of the core 4 and he didn’t want things to be awkward for anyone else.

So, he made his way over to the little group.  “Could I sit down?” he asked, standing at the corner of the expensive picnic blanket.

Hermione lowered her oversized sunglasses and looked over them at him.  “Of course,” she answered.  “Forsythia, do you mind coming with me to go and get drinks?”

Jellybean put down her _Highlights: Kids_ magazine and looked between Betty and Jughead before smirking.  “Sure, Hermione.”

When they were gone, Jughead stretched out on his back and covered his eyes with his forearm.  Betty continued reading _Vogue_ and pretended he wasn’t there until she couldn’t.

“What do you want, Forsythe?” she asked.

“I think we need to call a truce,” Jughead said.

Betty looked at him incredulously.   _“A truce?”_

“I think we should be friends.  For the sake of Archie and Veronica.  Nobody wants a messy custody battle and everyone knows they would choose _you_ , anyways.”

“Archie might choose you,” Betty said, taking off her sunglasses so they could look at each other better.

“I can’t give you what you want, I can’t be what you want.  .  .  but I don’t want to give up our friendship.  You’ve been in my life such a long time, I don’t know what I would do without you in it.”

He watched the expression on her face, it was so unreadable he didn’t know what she was thinking.  He knew it would serve him right if she rejected him and decided to ignore him for the rest of her life.

She sighed and flipped a page, any traces of a broken heart or a hangover were long gone.  She was almost unrecognizable in the late August sun like somewhere between the white party and going off with Nick, she’d decided to become someone else.

“I guess we can be friends,” she finally answered.  “For Archie’s sake, I would hate to confuse him, the poor dear.”

Jughead laughed, trying to think of something to say that was equally as funny to comeback at her with.  But he was just happy that she was letting him in again, even if there was a possibility that it was begrudgingly and it came with strings and conditions.

Even though he knew what it was like to really be with her, friendship was better than nothing.  

It had to be.

**TBC.  .  .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we’re making slow and steady process. I think I am getting through season 2 of Gossip Girl faster than I am writing this story. BUT I am figuring out where I want to go and what I want to leave in and take out as far as the original GG plot goes. I hope you’ll tell me what you think! I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks to Josh for beta-ing this for me!
> 
> Until Next Time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nationalrebellion and tinnie thank you for reviewing.

**.**

**Chapter 4**

Betty straightened out her plaid skirt and looked at herself in her full-length mirror. “Senior year… can you believe it, V?”

Veronica applied more lipstick. “I honestly can’t wait to be done with school. I’m bored with it.”

“I don’t know. I think I’m going to miss Spence,” Betty said as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

“I don’t want to talk about school,” Veronica told her as she took a sip of coffee. “How about we discuss how you’re not ending things with my stepbrother?”

“We did end things. We’ve just agreed to be friends for now,” Betty reminded her as she searched through her makeup bag for her pink lipstick. “You don’t understand, Ronnie. Jughead and I have been friends forever. That’s not something you just throw away because you made a few bad decisions.”

“He’s the one who made all the bad decisions!” Veronica retorted. “That is up until now. Now the two of you are _both_ making a horrible choice to remain friends. You do remember, he rejected you _twice_?”

Betty turned around and looked at her. “You don’t have to remind me. I’m the one who has to live with it and I decided I’m moving past it. I wish you could.”

“I’m just concerned about you. You’re my best friend.”

“Jughead is your stepbrother.”

“That’s not legally binding. My mom could divorce his dad and we’d forget we were even related for a few seconds.”

Betty made a face at her. “I think this one is going to stick, Ron. You better get used to the fact that you’re an honorary Jones now.

“Ugh. The only good thing about _that_ is all the money they have,” Veronica said as Betty’s door opened and Alice came in.

“Are you two ready for school?” she inquired.

“Mom, you do realize what time it is, don’t you?” Betty asked. “You usually don’t get out of bed until noon.”

“I wanted to see you off this morning!” Alice said cheerfully. “This is our first last day together.”

Betty frowned. “You’re a little eager to get rid of me.”

“I didn’t mean to come across like _that_!” Alice protested. “I just know how excited you’ve been to start senior year. You keep saying this is going to be the best year ever.”

“It is!” Betty replied, smiling reassuringly at her mother.

Alice shook her head and looked at her. “I can’t believe you’re growing up. It seems like just yesterday you were starting kindergarten. Where has the time gone?”

Veronica looked between Alice and Betty, dumbfounded. She looked like she wanted to say something but refrained from doing so as she played with her string of pearls.

When Alice was gone, Veronica looked at Betty. “ _What_ is going on with your mother!?” she asked.

Betty shrugged as she fixed her tie. “Damned if I knew. I think Mary and your mother know but they’re not saying anything.”

“Do you think she’s seeing somebody?”

“My _mother_ , seeing someone?” Betty repeated. “It was just 3 months ago she was devastated about my father leaving her for another woman. I don’t think she’d move on so quickly.”

“It might just be physical. Revenge sex is fun,” Veronica said. “You would know that if you slept with Nick.”

“I’m not interested in Nick _or_ revenge sex,” Betty answered as she got a pair of stockings out of her dresser.

“You have to get back on the horse sometime, B.”

“You’re disgusting. You know that, right?”

“Or you’re just uptight,” Veronica replied, smirking at her.

“You’re probably right,” Betty answered, grinning. “Come on, we need to eat some breakfast before we leave for school.”

**.**

“The first last day of the rest our lives!” Archie said, bursting into Jughead’s room.

“Are you planning on dying after you graduate from high school?” Jughead mumbled as he sat up.

“No. Why?”

Jughead got up and stretched. “Because you’re supposed to go to college or did you forget about that?”

“I thought I was going to inherit my father’s company one day.”

“That’s when _he_ dies,” he reminded his best friend as he took his school uniform from the hook. “And you need a little bit of knowledge in architecture and business before you can run a company that’s built on it.”

“I thought—”

“No,” Jughead said, shaking his head.

Archie decided to change the subject. “Veronica’s kind of pissed that you’re friends with Betty again.”

Jughead yawned and went into the bathroom. “You know I love my step-sister _dearly_ but it’s really none of her business.”

Archie shrugged. “I tried telling her. But you know Veronica.”

“I live with her,” Jughead answered. “She’s been giving me the silent treatment since we all met up in the Hamptons a couple weeks ago. I mean, she’ll talk to me when we’re in front of Hermione but she’s always sarcastic.”

Archie sighed. “I don’t want to get in the middle of you two. You know, I am dating her.”

“I realize that automatically means you have to choose her side,” Jughead replied as he turned on the shower.

“But you’re my best friend.”

“You can’t have it both ways,” Jughead pointed out.

Archie sat down on the edge of the bed and loosened his tie. “I _know_ but it feels wrong taking sides. Except—"

“If you say what I did to Betty was terrible,” Jughead warned as he closed the bathroom door.

“I know you already know,” Archie said loudly.

“Can we please stop talking about it? We’re really trying to move past it.”

Archie sighed. “You don’t really think you can move past it, do you?”

“I think we can move past the bad stuff,” Jughead answered. “I don’t think I can move past the. . .”

“Yeah?” Archie asked eagerly.

Jughead reappeared in his bathrobe and with a towel around his neck. “All the things before I made mistakes. The things in the middle of our friendship and my not showing up to go to Paris with her.”

“Why pretend to be her friend then? Why not just tell her that you love her and then you won’t _have_ to move past it?”

Jughead shook his head. “No. I can’t be what she wants me to be.”

_“Why?”_

“Archie, could we talk about anything else, _please_?” Jughead requested.

“So. . . we’re seniors. . .” Archie said, always willing to be easygoing.

“I can’t imagine anyone else I would want to start 12th grade with,” Jughead answered fondly.

“Well, there’s always Betty. . .”

Jughead pretended to get angry with him and then banished him from his bedroom to finish getting ready for school.

**.**

They met up with the girls to get coffee and pastries on the way to Spence. Archie was very careful not to immediately pair off with Veronica like he usually did. He was conscious of how everyone was feeling at the moment and didn’t want to make things more awkward than they already were.

“We need to all go to college within a few miles of each other. So we can do this next year,” he said as he polished off a maple, walnut scone. “I am going to miss our traditional start of the school year breakfasts.”

“Careful. You’re getting as sentimental as Jughead does about things like old movie theaters and bookstores,” Veronica teased.

“It’s a time-honored tradition. Something we’ve been doing since 1st grade!” Archie said. “I’d like to continue doing it for the next few years if that is at all possible.”

“What will you do when Betty and Jughead get into their respective Ivy League schools and we’re stuck in the city?” Veronica asked.

“Connecticut and Massachusetts both have coffee shops,” Jughead said. “We could always figure out a way to meet up if we’re all in different states next September.”

Veronica sighed and linked arms with Archie. “I think it’s too soon to talk about the future. Let’s just wait and see what happens next September when next September comes around.”

“Spoken like somebody who has no clue what’s going to happen next in their lives,” Betty teased.

“Yes but you’ve known you wanted to be a fashion writer since you were 6, and Jughead will inherit his father’s company one day.”

“I am going to inherit my father’s company one day,” Archie said. “But Jughead says I still have to go to college to learn the business.”

Veronica made a face. “Geesh Jughead. Life-ruiner much?”

Jughead rolled his eyes. “Stop taking the holier than thou high ground, sis. You’ve done a lot of things in _your_ lifetime.”

“That’s enough you two!” Betty interjected. “We’re putting the past behind and moving on, Veronica. So, you just need to stop. Besides, this must be exhausting, seeing that you have to live with him every day.”

Veronica sighed. “You’re right. Hating him is pretty tiring. I guess I could try and be civil.”

Betty smiled. “Fantastic. Come on guys, let’s make this the best year of high school that we’ve ever had!”

Jughead felt unworthy in the sights of Betty Cooper. She was walking along with her hazelnut and chocolate croissant, ready to forgive him his transgressions, ordering her best friend to be civil with him because they lived together. She was more than he deserved, and he was thankful that she was so forgiving.

He was sure if he had crawled out of Veronica’s bed, she would have made sure he died a very painful social death.

Then he shuddered because the thought of having sex with his stepsister was uncomfortable and strange.

“Thank you,” he mouthed to Betty when Veronica couldn’t see what he was doing.

Betty smiled at him and put her arm through his, they continued walking to school together. It felt right, it felt like old times, like everything was finally going to be alright again.

**.**

Betty walked into her living room, humming as she flipped through the mail she had picked up from the doorkeeper on her way into their apartment. It had been a pretty good day for the first time since the Lodge-Jones wedding.

She was finally starting cheer up. She had Jughead in her life again and they were all at the start of their senior year of high school.

Life was good.

She heard Alice giggling in the sitting room and paused for a second, wondering what her mother was up to. It was too early for her to be drinking and it wasn’t the usual day of the week when she met with Hermione and Mary for cocktails.

“Mom?” Betty called cautiously as she made her way through the hallway and turned left.

Her mouth opened and she almost dropped the stack of magazines and letters she was holding. Her mother was sitting on the couch in a satin bathrobe with her _Carine Gilson_ lingerie exposed.

Alice cleared her throat when she saw her daughter standing in the doorway and put her teacup down. “You’re home!”

 

“School _is_ over for the day,” Betty answered. “What are you doing?”

“Having afternoon tea,” Alice replied, standing up and tying her robe securely around her waist.

Betty raised a skeptical eyebrow. “In your bra and panties?”

Betty was shocked when Alice blushed. “Betty—”

“Mom, what’s going on?” Betty asked, hoping that she wouldn’t get an embarrassing answer in return.

Alice sighed. “I was going to wait a little bit longer before I told you. . . but I’m seeing someone.”

“You’re seeing someone!?” Betty repeated, her eyes widening. “Since when?”

Alice sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Betty, this is my boyfriend Leonard Kensington.”

For the first time since Betty had come into the room, she noticed someone else was there. A man with a full head of dark hair, wearing nothing but silk boxer shorts and socks.  He looked like the special agent from Twin Peaks.

“Len, this is my daughter Elizabeth.”

Leonard put his teacup down and rose to meet her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth.”

“Betty,” she answered. “You can call me Betty!”

“Len, why don’t you go and put your clothes on,” Alice suggested.

“Oh! Of course!” Leonard replied, stopping to give her a kiss as he passed her.

“Mom!” Betty said as soon as he was out of earshot, sitting down and pouring herself a cup of tea as she kicked her shoes off. “Where did you meet him?”

“He’s my divorce lawyer’s partner,” Alice said. “I met him this summer at his office and he. . . he swept me off my feet. It happened completely by accident.”

“Did you tell Mary and Hermione before us?”

“Yes, they know. I asked Hermione for help because she had just gone through dating and remarriage—”

“Mom! _Mom_ , it’s okay!” Betty interjected, smiling at her. “I’m _really_ happy for you!”

“Thank you,” Alice said. “That-that means a lot to me.”

“Does Polly and Chic know?”

“Not yet. I’m waiting for the right time to tell them,” Alice replied. “I’m dreading Polly’s reaction and I thought I’d wait until Chic got back from Harvard for Thanksgiving to tell him. You know how focused he gets when he’s in school.”

Betty nodded. “I know.”

“I’m going to go and put some clothes on,” Alice said, suddenly aware she wasn’t wearing anything except for her underwear. “Please don’t tell your brother and sister about this until I’m ready for them to know!”

“I won’t!”

“Don’t tell your friends about it right now either,” Alice added. “I don’t want everyone on the Upper East Side finding out about it. They have all gossiped enough about me this year as it is. Let’s give them a break, shall we?”

“Of course,” Betty agreed.

“Thank you dear. Now if you would excuse me, I really need to go and get dressed!”

Betty sipped her tea in silence and answered texts from her father and Chic about how the first day of school had gone. A few minutes later, both Alice and Leonard returned, smiling at each other and holding hands.

“I have to go back to the office,” Leonard told Alice, turning to give her a kiss. “I’ll see you later.”

“He seems nice,” Betty said when he was gone.

“I’ve told him a lot about you. When the time is right, he would like to get to know you and your siblings better.”

Betty grinned. “Oh? That must mean he’s serious about you then!”

“I don’t want to think about _that_! I just got divorced! Right now all I want to have is a good time and forget about the last few months.”

“I understand.” Betty sighed. “I understand more than you know, mom.”

“Your sister told me what happened with you and Forsythe,” Alice said sympathetically. “If it helps, I know how alluring the Jones men can be.”

Betty looked at her mother. “You and _FP_?”

“No! No! _Never_!” Alice assured her. “He was very. . . _sensual_. . . when we were teenagers. He knew how to make every girl feel special, even if you never had a chance with him.”

 _“Sensual!?”_ Betty repeated. “Mom! _Ewww!_ ”

Alice laughed again, making Betty wonder what had happened to her mother in her absence. She wasn’t even saying _I told you so_ or banning her from being friends with Jughead.

She hoped her good spirits would last.

**.**

Jellybean was eating Oreos with Veronica when Jughead got home from school.

“Word on the street is that you decided to be friends with Betty again!” Jellybean said.

Jughead fixed Veronica with a look. “Are you trying to bring Gossip Girl back?”

“Gossip Girl?” Veronica looked disgusted. “Like I’d bring that _rag_ back. No, I was simply making conversation with our sister.”

“I can’t believe you two are going to be _friends_!” Jellybean said, like the word friend was a four-letter word. “You could have told her how you felt about her.”

“Take a good look, JB. This is what a _coward_ looks like.”

Jughead glared at her. “Would you just shut up?”

“No!” Veronica answered.

“Don’t say shut up,” Jellybean added.

“Traitor!” Jughead said affectionately as he leaned over and stole one of his sister’s cookies.

Hermione came in from the elevator, her high heels clicking against the wooden floor. She smiled. “I like this scene! All of you sitting here, it feels like were a real family.”

“We were just discussing how Jughead and Betty decided to be friends,” Jellybean told her, chatting Hermione into the conversation.

“Friends, huh? That’s nice.”

“I wouldn’t call it _nice_ —”

“Veronica, this is Elizabeth and Forsythe’s decision!” Hermione interrupted. “I’m afraid you don’t get a choice in the matter, mija.”

Veronica closed her mouth, taking a sip of her lemonade and tapping her fingers on the counter.

Hermione sighed. “This topic of conversation is officially off the table from this point forward. It’s not anyone’s business but their own, the only time you’re allowed to say anything is if they ask for your opinion.”

“Yes mother,” Veronica replied sullenly.

“Okay!” Jellybean said cheerfully.

Jughead smiled gratefully at Hermione and then went off to do his homework, leaving the girls to themselves.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the frigging slowest burn. I can’t say I am sorry for that but I do apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I hope you’ll still enjoy it regardless and that you’ll be here for the next chapter! I am looking forward to your thoughts on this. Especially regarding the turn of events with Alice, I debated that plot choice for a long time and finally decided to give her a Cyrus of her own.
> 
> Until Next Time!


	5. Chapter 5 Friends Without Benefits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to Tinnie for reviewing this and a big shout-out to Aries the Gay Crusader for helping me with the Cheryl parts.

**.**

**Chapter 5**

“Just do it,” Cheryl advised Betty. “If you miss him that much pretend you don’t have feelings for him and just sleep with him, put us all out of our misery. . .”

Veronica choked on her pumpkin spice latte. “Excuse me! That’s my stepbrother. I would prefer we don’t talk about him having sex with anyone. . . _ever_!”

Cheryl rolled her eyes. “Since when are you such a prude, V?”

“Since I have to sleep in the room across from Jughead’s,” Veronica replied. “I’d rather not know about _any_ of it, thank you very much.”

“So? He’s your _step-brother_ , if Betty were contemplating sleeping with Reggie or Chuck, you wouldn’t have a problem talking about it!

“Betty knows how I feel about her having anything to do with Jughead.”

Cheryl huffed. “That was so 4 months ago. If Betty can get over it, can’t you?”

“I’m right here!” Betty interjected.

Veronica sighed. “Listen, I know you have _needs_ but do you need to satisfy them with _Jughead_?”

Betty raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking because he broke my heart and you don’t want me to get hurt again?”

Veronica paused, contemplating her response before shaking her head. “No. No, the more I think about it, it’s not because of _that_. I would rather not look across the table and know why he had a smug look on his face.”

“Try not and make him too happy,” Cheryl teased.

“Cheryl, _ew_!” Veronica said.

“Reggie told me that Jughead isn’t completely opposed to having you back in _his_ bed.”

Veronica groaned. “Cheryl! _Why!?_ ”

Cheryl’s red lips stretched into a smile where she showed all her teeth. “Would you relax? It’s not like I’m getting into dirty details.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t engage in locker room talk,” Veronica told her. “I really have no interest in what the boys are saying about us.”

“Don’t be a hypocrite!” Cheryl scolded, glaring at her. “Before you and Archie were a hot item, you always wanted to know what he was saying about you.”

Veronica looked like she was going to say something in return but Betty hopped in before she got the chance.

“How do I pretend I fell out of love with him?” Betty asked.

“I don’t know. You just do it,” Cheryl said.

“Or you don’t! You and Jughead are in a good place right now. Do you really want to ruin it by having sex with him again? You’re not the kind of girl who can put her feelings aside so easily.”

"Which isn't a negative" Cheryl added, "But I'm quite unsure about your current predicament. Not everyone can be well versed in the noble art of casual sex and friendship.”

“You _just_ said to _just_ do it!” Betty reminded her. “So, what it’s going to be??”

Veronica sighed and looked at her phone. “I have to go to class now. Betty, don’t sleep with Jughead between now and the next time I see you.”

“What? I’m not that desperate! Or _classless_!” Betty protested as Veronica walked away, shouldering her Rebecca Minkoff messenger bag.

Betty sighed. “I’m going to the library. I’ll see you later, Cheryl.”

“Toodles,” Cheryl replied, waving at her.

**.**

Betty took _Beloved_ down before returning it to its spot. She had already read it half-a-dozen times, she was in the mood for something different.

“I thought I would find you here,” Jughead said, starling her.

“Jughead. . . what do you want?” Betty asked, walking towards the ‘ _M’s_ ’.

Jughead followed her and reached for _Gone With the WInd_ at the same time as she did, brushing his hand against her’s. Betty pulled away self-consciously and backed into another shelf.

“I just came to do some reading between classes,” Jughead answered. “Same as you. . . like we used to do—”

“Before. . .” Betty trailed off as her eyes dropped to his mouth without thinking about it.

“Things were supposed to go back to normal,” Jughead reminded her.

Betty swallowed hard, she knew as well as he did that neither of them _wanted_ things to be the way they were used to be before. All the attempts they had made were half-hearted, despite Veronica’s comment about them being in a good place. She had secretly pined for him while he had turned on all his charm.

He took her hand and led her through the library without another word. Pausing only when they reached the secret alcove next to the music room, the school orchestra was practicing for a concert. They came together, their lips meeting at exactly the same time. It was the first time they had kissed in 4 months but it felt like they hadn’t ever stopped.

“We can’t do this here,” she told him.

“Do _what_ here?” Jughead joked as he moved to her neck.

“Whatever. . . _this is_ ,” Betty replied, closing her eyes. “We-we don’t want anyone to catch us.”

Jughead stopped immediately and straightened. “Right. Come to the penthouse tonight. We can be alone.”

Betty’s pulse quickened as she released a deep breath and managed to compose herself. “Alright. I’ll be there,” she promised.

Jughead dropped one more quick, chaste kiss on her lips and then disappeared.

**.**

Jughead couldn’t believe the turn of events. Betty actually wanted to see him with no strings attached like before. She hadn’t even mentioned the “L” word in the few seconds they had been kissing.

In all the years he had known her, she had never changed in the course of a few weeks. She weighed all the pros and cons before making a decision. He had been there for a majority of them, helping her decide if Harvard was a better school than Yale when she had started applying to colleges with careful lists and tours of the campuses.

He saw Cheryl standing in the hallway, leaning against a column, texting away with her red talons.

He stopped and looked at her. “Bombshell, do you know what’s going on with Betty?”

Cheryl sighed. "What's the matter Hemingway? Already regretting this because she's better at it than you are?"

Jughead frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I understand your pride is hurt.”

“Huh?” Jughead was even more confused by the maple syrup heiress’s conversation. “Cheryl, what’s going on?”

Cheryl slipped her phone into her bag and crossed her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t you and Betty agree to be friends with benefits?”

“That’s news to me. . . girls actually talk about that?”

Cheryl laughed. "Oh Jughead, you poor naive little idiot. Why would you assume that we don't partake in _'locker room talk'_ like you and your fellow apes, it's equality after all."

Jughead sighed. “But she really said she wanted to be friends with benefits?”

“She said something to that effect, yes.”

Jughead didn’t know why when was going to get the thing he wanted to get, he didn’t want it anymore. He didn’t know what he was going to do when Betty went to the penthouse later that night.

**.**

When he got home, Hermione and FP were in the living room drinking wine from large glasses.

“Look who came home today!” Hermione said. “If you have any plans for this evening, you should cancel them. Your father made reservations to dine out for supper.”

“How very Brady Bunch,” Veronica interjected. “Do we _have_ to go out and make an appearance tonight? Archie was going to come over and study.”

“We haven’t been seen together as a family since the wedding,” Hermione reminded her.

“I don’t think people forgot you married FP,” Veronica said almost bitterly. “Nobody at school always did anyways. Somebody asked me if Jughead and I are doing it like in Cruel Intentions. UGH. Way to ruin my favorite movie.”

Hermione calmly took a sip of her wine and then sighed. “Alright. Well, your presence is still expected at supper tonight. The both of you go and change out of your uniforms, we’ll be leaving as soon as Forsythia is done with her piano lesson.”

Veronica huffed and brushed past Jughead as she stalked off to her room.

“I’m just going to cancel my plans for tonight,” Jughead said.

“So, that’s it? No greeting for your old man? I have been gone all summer!” FP reminded him.

“It’s so nice to finally have you home, father,” he replied before going to his room.

He dropped his school bag on the floor and opened his laptop, typing out a message to Betty.

_Sorry, can’t make it tonight. FP is back from his business trip and is insisting we have a family dinner for appearance's sake. We could reschedule. Your choice, you name the date and time. The place even!_

He waited with bated breath as 3 dots showed up and then Betty’s reply appeared. She was as understanding as ever.

_Veronica just told me something to that effect! So I thought we would have to take a raincheck on tonight’s little rendezvous. Enjoy yourself!_

Jughead leaned back in his chair, trying to think about what to say next. He certainly wouldn’t enjoy himself while FP pretended to be father of the year and Veronica shot him daggers over her Cosmo.

 _I would much rather be with you_ , he finally answered.

_Next time._

**.**

Betty returned the frothy pink bra and panties she had been holding and sighed. “I guess this is the universe telling me that sleeping with Jughead again isn’t a good idea.”

“You could get it for the next time,” Cheryl suggested. “Or you could get it for you. Who says lingerie has to be for a man?”

“You’re right. You’re right!” Betty agreed as she picked it up again and went to pay for it.

Cheryl trailed behind her and picked up a sheer robe, trimmed in fur the same color as the underwear she was buying. “To complete the set!”

Betty shook her head. “I really think this is enough.”

Cheryl lowered her voice. “Money isn’t an issue, is it? Your father didn’t cut you off when he divorced your mother?”

“I have more than enough money!” Betty assured her. “I just have no idea how I would sneak into Jughead’s penthouse wearing it.”

“You don’t sneak in _wearing_ it!” Cheryl said. “You go wearing something like your school uniform and take the elevator to his floor. Then when you’re in the privacy of his bedroom, you put it on. Have you really _never_ seduced anybody before? What did you do when you and Jughead were together the first time?”

“I didn’t. . .” Betty blushed. “We just sort of—”

Cheryl held up her hand and shook her head. “Spare me the details. I don’t want to know about your copulation with the Prince of the Upper East Side.”

“Well, I’m going to go home and get a head start on the reading for my AP literature class,” Betty said, a sort of heavy feeling lodged in her chest.

It tasted like rejection even though Jughead hadn’t really rejected her, he was just a victim of familial circumstance.

“Have fun!” Cheryl sang cheerfully as she waved her off.

“See you tomorrow!” Betty replied, taking her bag of lingerie and leaving the store.

**TBC. . .**

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the brevity of this chapter and for the delay in posting. As I said in my other author’s note, I’ve felt the need for validation and when I didn’t get it. . . I got discouraged. On top of that, my brother got married and I got sick. It’s been a busy few weeks but this story has been on my mind the whole time. I hope, if you are reading this, you will tell me what you thought.
> 
> Since the holidays are nearing, I’m going to try and speed up events. I hope you don’t get whiplash with what I intend to do.


	6. Chapter 6 I Put A Spell On You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tinnie, Melissa Gillespie, Iwillgodownwiththisship27, Vamp19762000, Meg, MissyB, Leahk1234 - thank you from the bottom of your heart for the feedback.

**.**

**Chapter 6**

Betty sighed as she adjusted the tight black sheath dress she was wearing and looked at herself in Veronica’s full-length mirror. “Are you sure I look good?”

“You’re a total smoke show!” Veronica answered, shimming into a slinky Versace before tossing Betty sheer, back-seamed nylons. “As much as it pains me to say this, Jughead won’t be able to take his eyes off of you. . . or, ugh, keep his hands off of you for that matter.”

“I’m beginning to think it’s never going to happen,” Betty said. “Not that there’s been a lot of opportunity to see each other privately with FP and Hermione trying to act like a picture perfect family these days.”

“It’s sickening,” Veronica bit off. “What’s so different about _this_ time? Why can’t we just go along doing our own thing until my mother decides it was a bad idea like all the other times?”

“Maybe she’s serious this time,” Betty replied, going through Veronica’s lipsticks before settling on a nude shade.

Veronica shook her head and went over to her vanity. “ _No_. You can’t wear the same old color you wear all the time. You have to be bold and daring tonight.” she picked up a tube of lipstick called Red Inferno and swiped it over Betty’s mouth. “Perfect. If you’re going to do a Sinners and Saints party, do it right.”

Betty shook her head. “It’s just a little too much.”

“It’s just for one night,” Veronica said, rolling her eyes. “This is the party to kick off all the holiday parties, you usually love it.”

“I’m usually a saint. Not a sinner,” Betty reminded her.

Veronica draped a fur stole over Betty’s shoulders and grinned at her through wine painted lips. “Well then, it’s time to try something else. Now come on, let’s go. We don’t want Cheryl to be mad at us because we’re late.”

**.**

When they got to the Thornhill, the nightclub Cheryl had rented out for the night, the party was already in full swing.

Cheryl and her twin brother Jason were in the middle of the floor, dressed head-to-toe in red and swing dancing to the Monster Mash. Betty looked around the room, biting her bottom lip as she looked around for Jughead.

Not sure why she cared so much if he was there or not.

“I’m going to try and find Archie!” Veronica said in her ear. “Try and have some fun, please!”

She disappeared before Betty could reply, the song ended, changing seamlessly to a Florence + the Machine song.

Cheryl cozied up beside her, looping her arm through her’s. “Betty, you look positively decadent!”

“Veronica made me. . .” Betty replied self-consciously.

“Jughead’s around here somewhere,” Cheryl told her, looking around the room. “Wait until he sees you. I hope you have smelling salts, he’ll probably fall over when he sees you.”

Betty waved her off. “Oh please.”

Cheryl pushed her hair away from her shoulder and then gave Betty a push. “Go and find him, vixen! Who knows? Maybe something will _finally_ happen tonight!”

Betty stumbled forward a little on her higher than usual heels, she regained her balance and then went to the bar. “Could I have a Shirley Temple, please?”

“Dirty?” the bartender asked.

“Dirty.” Betty nodded, her pulse quickening. “Definitely dirty.”

“You need a new signature drink, Cooper. Dirty Shirley Temples taste like cough syrup.” She turned around and saw Jughead standing beside her, in a black velvet suit and shiny blue button-down, his bowtie a shade darker than his shirt. “I’ll have a scotch on the rocks.”

Betty shrugged. “I really don’t care.”

“Planning mischief tonight?”

“Does it include you?” Betty asked brazenly, blushing as the words slipped off her tongue.

Jughead looked her up and down. “Maybe that could be arranged,” he replied. “You look like my sister got her hands on you.”

“She did,” Betty admitted. “I wanted to come as Nancy Drew but I guess it wasn’t a costume party this year.”

“Didn't you hear? Costume parties are so 11th grade,” Jughead said, taking a sip of his drink. “Cheryl threw the party this year, you had to know a little more sex would be involved. Don’t blush, you’re not a good little virgin anymore. You shouldn’t have an aversion to the word _S-E-X_.”

Betty’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red and she sucked down her Shirley Temple, not caring about how fast the sugar and alcohol would hit her system. She needed the liquid courage tonight. “So, what brings you here tonight?”

“I’m kind of over family togetherness,” Jughead replied, smirking.

“Ha!”

“It was either this or watching The Craft with JB and 12 girls from the academy. JB paid me to get out of the apartment for the night. I guess it’s embarrassing to have your big brother hanging around but it’s cool for your stepmother to stay and make mocktails.”

“You sound bitter,” Betty teased, feeling a little more settled since they weren’t trading innuendoes anymore.

“We could always leave and go to your house to watch The Craft,” Jughead said.

“I know how much you love Robin Tunney,” Betty replied.

“It’s not like anyone’s going to miss us,” Jughead told her. “By now Archie and Veronica have found each other. By midnight, Jason will be sneaking into your sister’s dorm and Cheryl will be hooking up with some girl. All our friends are preoccupied. We made an appearance, that’s more than they could ask for.”

Betty pressed her lips together. “My mother’s not home. If you want to come over.”

Jughead downed the rest of his drink and set the glass down on the counter. “I’d love to.”

**.**

Betty knew as soon as they got to her apartment, they weren’t going to watch TV. She turned the fireplace on and reprieved her aching feet from the shoes she was wearing. Jughead was looking through the CDs her father had left behind.

“Your father always had the best taste in music,” Jughead commented as he put some music on.

“We keep meaning to ship him his collection,” Betty said as she uncorked a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. “Especially since there’s no way he’s coming back.”

He pressed play and I Put A Spell On You came over the speakers.

Betty breathed in sharply as Jughead came to her and took the glasses from her hand, set them on the mantle, and kissed her, cutting right to the chase. He pushed the fur away from her shoulders and started to walk backwards while she worked on his bowtie.

By the time they had gotten to her room, they were just in their underwear and Betty was dizzy with anticipation.

Until. . .

“Say it,” Jughead whispered.

“Say what?” Betty asked, confused.

“Say what you wanted me to say to you, three letters. Eight words,” Jughead answered. “Say it and I’m yours.”

Betty’s heart stopped beating. “What?”

Jughead put a few inches between them. “You heard me. I want you to say you love me.”

Betty felt like he had dumped ice cold water all over her, she took a step backwards and shook her head. “I can’t say it.”

Jughead nodded. “Well then, we can’t do this.”

Betty choked on her laughter. “Since when Jug? We always did it before. . . before things got messy. Before I wanted something more.”

Jughead came towards her and put his hands on her shoulders, he looked into her eyes. “Do you _really_ want this?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think you do,” Jughead said.

Betty wrenched away from him and grabbed her bathrobe from the end of her bed, suddenly embarrassed to be standing there in front of him in her underwear. “You can leave now.”

“Betty—”

 _“Go!”_ Betty ordered, feeling tears well up in her eyes

Jughead gave her one last look before turning around and disappearing from her room. She waited until she was sure he would be gone and then went downstairs to shut the music off and lock up.

She grabbed the undrunk glass of wine and took a sip as she went into the living room and sat down on the couch, she turned on the television and mindlessly scrolled through the channels but didn’t really watch anything.

She kept going over things in her mind, wondering why things still weren’t working out when she was giving Jughead exactly what he wanted. Except, maybe he wanted something else too and didn’t know how to tell her.

Betty pulled the heavy throw blanket over her head and wondered when things had started to change, when things had started to go so wrong. She wondered why she couldn’t say _I love you_ when he had asked her to.

It was like she couldn’t even conjure up the words in her head even though she knew how to say them.

**.**

“You asked her to say she loved you and she didn’t?” Archie repeated as he poured Jughead a drink. “I don’t understand. . . wasn’t it just a couple months ago she was begging you to say it to her?”

“Yes,” Jughead answered. “If I couldn’t say it to her, why did I expect she could say it to me?”

“Because Betty’s always been the one who’s good at that kind of stuff,” Archie replied, sitting down on the floor next to him. “She’s always been the kind of girl to wear her heart on her sleeve.”

“Maybe she isn’t in love with me,” Jughead mused. “I could have been fooling myself this whole time into thinking she loved me.”

“Betty’s loved you since we were kids,” Archie said.

“It’s not the same thing,” Jughead replied. “She’s loved you too.”

“Do you want her to love you differently than she loves me?” Archie asked. “Do you love her differently?”

Jughead sipped his scotch and didn’t answer. All he could think about was the look of utter rejection in Betty’s face when he had asked her to say that she loved him. He had ruined what could have been a perfectly good evening together.

He wasn’t even really sure he wanted to hear she loved him. He didn’t know what he would have done with the information.

Said he loved her too?

He was almost certain if he was faced with the expectation, again, he couldn’t say he loved her.

Archie shook his head. “And I thought _I_ had problems. You have no idea how messy the two of you are!”

Jughead snorted. “Me? Messy? May I remind you about our sophomore year in high school? Does Geraldine Grundy ring any bells?”

Archie laughed good-naturedly. “Okay, so we’re all a little bit a mess then. But you two usually had it together more than the rest of us. What happened?”

Jughead shrugged and lit a cigarette. “I guess I got drunk at a party one night and slept with my best friend. And who says I wasn’t messy before? All the Upper East Side kids are screwed up in one way or another.”

Archie opened his balcony doors and let the cold October air into his bedroom before sitting next to Jughead on the floor. Together they watched November usher in and didn’t talk anymore.

**.**

Betty woke up with a pounding headache and leftover wine on her tongue. She was still mortified from the night before. But she wouldn’t let it get to her, she stumbled to her feet and went upstairs to her bathroom to get ready for school.

She put extra time in with her makeup, careful to cover up the dark circles under her eyes and her pale cheeks. With coffee in her system and her best pair of stockings, she was the perfect girl everybody thought she was again.

She wasn’t a cheap drunk in somebody else’s clothes and makeup anymore. She wasn’t a Halloween reject.

Since she was fully herself again, she could face her friends and tell them what had happened with a stiff-upper lip. She could try and accept that she would never have Jughead Jones again.

**.**

“Even Jughead is red-blooded enough that he would have ravished you in that dress last night,” Cheryl said incredulously while Betty filled them in the events that had played out when she and Jughead had gotten to her apartment the night before. “You couldn’t leave my party last enough. What happened?”

“I can’t believe he actually asked for you to say that you love him!” Veronica seethed. “The nerve of him! He couldn’t say it when you wanted him to but all of a sudden, he thinks he has a claim on your affections?”

“It’s not that he wanted me to say it,” Betty told her.

“Well, he should have been grateful. You were practically throwing yourself at him after you asked him for a commitment and he wouldn’t give you one.”

“That makes her sound kind of desperate, Veronica.”

“Well, it should have been the other way around. He should have been on his knees begging _you_ to take him back.”

Betty shook her head. “There wasn’t any begging, V. It was mutual and then when I couldn’t say I love you, we mutually decided not to sleep together.”

“You’re obviously upset it didn’t happen. . .”

“Upset? I’m not upset it didn’t happen,” Betty assured her half-heartedly. “I’m just embarrassed. I mean, I will admit that the rejection stings a little but I’m not upset.”

“Nick St.Cloud is still free,” Veronica said.

Betty shook her head. “Ew. No thank you! I cannot stress how much I don’t want to be another conquest that he’ll tell his other pervert friends about when they go out yachting this weekend.”

“Nick’s not much of a yachter—” Veronica stopped. “Okay, I get it. I’ll stop suggesting you sleep with Nick. But you can’t spend the rest of your life in Satis House. Promise me that you will try and move on. Please.”

“I’ll try,” Betty said but she wasn’t sure how sincere she was.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO. Do you hate me yet? Anyone who knows Chuck and Blair’s story knows they have an insufferably long slow burn. Of course, I am not certain I am writing the slow burn right. I confess, I do not do it much or at all. Anyways, it will continue for the foreseeable future and I’m dotty. But at the same time, I’m not. Let me know what you thought! 
> 
> Until Next Time!  
> Love,  
> Holly
> 
> P.S
> 
> Satis House is a reference to Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The songs used in this chapter was the Monster Mash by Bobby Boris Pickett and the Crypt Keepers, Girl With One Eye by Florence + the Machine, and I Put A Spell On You, covered by Seal.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tinnie, I willgodownwiththisship27, an Vamp99762000 thank you for your reviews.

**.**

**Chapter 7**

“I can’t believe you rejected Betty _again_!” Jellybean said as she came in from school and tossed her book bag aside.

Jughead looked up from _Wuthering Heights_. “Where did _you_ hear about that? You’re in _middle school_.”

“Veronica told me. You know our _stepsister_.”

Jughead huffed. “Well, Veronica had no business telling you what’s happening between me and Betty.”

“Why did you not sleep with her?” Jellybean asked, sitting down and adjusting one of her knee socks. “Are you afraid of commitment?”

“You’re 12, Forsythia. I’m not having this discussion with you.”

Jellybean rolled her eyes. “Because 18-year-old’s issues are so much more complex than a 12-year-old’s. Right?”

Jughead shook his head. “I never said that.”

“I know exactly what’s bothering you,” Jellybean informed him.

“Oh? And what is _that_?” Jughead asked, closing his book and folding his arms across his chest.

Jellybean shook her head. “You wouldn’t be ready to hear or accept it. But guess what.”

Jughead sighed impatiently. “What?”

“We got invited to the Cooper’s apartment for Thanksgiving dinner!” Jellybean said gleefully, hints of her age coming out with her statement.

“That’s not new. We always get invited to their apartment for Thanksgiving.”

“Are you going to go? You know, now that you and Betty aren’t friends anymore.”

“What are you talking about? We’re still friends.”

“You think she still wants to be your friend after you refused to have sex with her and then tried to force her to say she loved you?”

“Okay, first of all, I am not discussing my sex life with you. Second of all, she asked _me_ to say I love you first!” Jughead told her. “Not that it matters.”

“But you didn’t say it.”

“Yeah, well, she didn’t say it either.”

“Maybe she was too afraid you wouldn’t say it back if she said it first,” Jellybean suggested.

Jughead shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Jellybean sighed. “I hope I don’t grow up to be as dumb as you. If I love somebody, I’m going to tell them and not play stupid games. I’m going to do my homework, I’m done wasting my time on you.”

She disappeared and Jughead saw Veronica walk past him from the corner of his eye.

“Just because we’re kind of related right now doesn’t give you the right to tell my sister my personal business,” he informed her.

Veronica stopped and smirked. “Please, the whole school knows what happened by now. She would have found out eventually.”

“She’s not even in our school,” Jughead reminded her.

“JB’s a smart kid. She would have figured it out eventually. Especially when you and Betty stopped spending time together.”

“Nobody said that we were going to stop spending time together.”

Veronica snorted. “Please. The two of you can’t just go back to being friends and now it’s worse because you wouldn’t even sleep with her after she practically threw herself at you.”

“I would be careful about the way you phrase things. Betty never threw herself at me, not even last night.”

“Whatever,” Veronica said. “The point is, maybe you should just spend some time apart. Figure out what you really want from each other and your relationship.”

“Why are you interfering?”

“I just don’t want to see you hurt Betty any more than you already have.”

Jughead wanted to tell her that he hadn’t ever meant to hurt Betty but he didn’t want Veronica to be involved in his personal life any more than she already was. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he informed her as he stood up to go to his bedroom.

He passed Hermione on his way down the hallway. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

“I’m going to spend a few days at the hotel,” he told her. “I can’t be here right now. I just need a little time to myself.”

Hermione nodded. “I’ll call ahead and have the penthouse made up for you. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, that will be enough,” Jughead replied, ready to bolt because he knew that Hermione knew and he couldn’t bear to be in the presence of her pity or whatever it was that she was thinking about him.

Hermione reached out and touched his shoulder. “It’s going to be alright,” she told him. “Things have a way of working themselves out.”

Jughead didn’t even know how to believe her.

**.**

“Is everything alright Elizabeth?” Leonard asked when she got home from school. “You look upset.”

“Everything’s fine,” Betty lied as she made some decaf espresso and sat down at the island with Wuthering Heights.

“Nothing happened at the Halloween party last night?”

“Nothing at all,” Betty answered, wrapping her hands around her warm cup and sighing.

“Your mother told me a little bit about your boy troubles,” Leonard said as he started to rummage through the fridge to find something to make for dinner. “Are you still having problems?”

“Maybe a little,” Betty replied. “It doesn’t matter though.”

Leonard nodded and shut the refrigerator door. “There’s nothing to eat.”

“My mother isn’t much of a chef and I haven’t had a chance to do any shopping,” Betty said.

“I have an idea. Why don’t you go and get changed out of your uniform and then we can run to the market and buy ingredients for dinner. If you tell me what you like to eat the most, I’ll make it for you.”

“I don’t think I have much of an appetite,” Betty answered.

“Well, just come with me then and tell me what your mother likes. I’m still learning about her.”

“Okay,” Betty agreed, sliding off the barstool and going to her room. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere!”  Leonard assured her.

She went to her room and changed into a pair of plaid slacks, a cashmere sweater, and penny loafers. She fixed her ponytail and appraised herself in the mirror before turning away, hating the person she saw looking back at her.

She would have to be careful about not telling Veronica about that. Not liking herself wasn’t Jughead’s fault but she was sure the other girl wouldn’t have any problem making it about that.

**.**

“So, do you love him?” Leonard asked after they had returned from Citarella Gourmet Market and she had told him everything about Jughead from their years of friendship to the most recent events in their lives.

Betty paused, her pulse quickening slightly as she thought about it. “What do you mean, do I love him?”

“Do you love him romantically? It’s obvious you love him the other way, I think it would be impossible not to after all you’ve been together as friends.”

Betty opened her mouth, her knife paused over the tomato she was slicing. For the second time in the span of 20 hours, she couldn’t say it aloud even though she thought maybe she did love him.

She loved him despite everything that had happened in the last few months, including his leaving her alone at the airport and not saying he loved her when she asked him to. “I can’t say it to him because it hurts too much.”

Leonard went over to her and looked at her carefully. “Do you mind if I hug you?”

Betty nodded and allowed him to put his arms around her. She didn’t know how much she needed a hug until he gave her one. She buried her face in his chest and took a few relaxing breaths.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Of course,” Leonard answered, patting her on the back and releasing her.

Alice came into the kitchen at that exact moment and smiled. “Are you _cooking_?”

“Your daughter knows her way around the kitchen,” Leonard answered her, giving her a kiss. “I was trying but she took over for me.”

“Betty’s been cooking forever,” Alice said. “I think I would be completely overweight from eating out all the time if she wasn’t handy with a cookbook and Pinterest. I burn water.”

“She mentioned that you weren’t much of a chef,” Leonard replied. “But don’t worry, I don’t mind at all.”

Betty cleared her throat. “Dinner is almost ready. I’m going to leave you two alone. I just remembered I’m supposed to meet Mrs. Bass to help her with annual the Snowflake ball.”

“Do you want to eat something before you go?” Alice asked.

Betty shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you later. Thank you for this afternoon, Leonard. I appreciate it.”

“You’re very welcome,” Leonard answered, smiling at her. “Enjoy your visit with Blair.”

Betty nodded and left them alone, thankful for the distraction from all her problems as she walked the couple blocks to the Empire.

**.**

“Welcome back, Mr. Forsythe. Will you be staying with us long?”

“I don’t know,” Jughead answered as he dropped his bags and his coat on the floor. “I think I will be staying as long as possible though.”

“Very well. I’ve taken the liberty of stocking up all your favorites. If you need anything else, let me know.”

“I will, thank you.”

When he was alone, he went to the bar and poured himself a glass of scotch. He put on his favorite classical music record and sank down in his chair. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the piano and strings, conducting an imaginary orchestra while he tried to forget about Betty for a little while.

But the more he drank, the more he thought about her.

**.**

“Elizabeth, darling! It’s so good to see you!” Blair Waldorf-Bass said as she let her in and kissed her twice on the cheeks. “Oh my! You don’t look well _at all_!”

“I might be coming down with something,” Betty lied. “A cold. Do you want me to come back some other time?”

“It’s fine,” Blair assured her as she led her into the living room. “I’ll have Dorota make a pot of tea. Please, make yourself comfortable. We have a lot to discuss. The Snowflake Ball, as you know, is only a month away. . .” she trailed off and looked at her suspiciously. “This is more than a cold. You’re distracted. This is very unlike you Elizabeth. You have to tell me what’s going on. Hold on, I know! You’re in love! Well, tell me who it is! Archibald Andrews? Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third?”

“Archie’s with Veronica,” Betty replied, blushing.

Blair’s mouth dropped open. “Oh good. You’re setting your sights a little higher. Forsythe comes from a perfectly splendid family.”

“He doesn’t feel the same way,” Betty answered quickly. “So, I was thinking white lights. All the white lights in New York City—”

“What do you mean he doesn’t feel the same way?” Blair interjected. “You, Elizabeth Cooper, are the catch of the century. A young man in his position would be _lucky_ to have you. _LUCKY_!”

“Somebody should tell him that,” Betty said.

“I will the next time I see him,” Blair said nonchalantly.

“Please don’t!” Betty pleaded, desperate for people to stop interfering in her life.

Blair looked taken aback. “Do you want to talk about it? You know I might have better understanding than you think.”

Betty hesitated, she knew Blair was right. She had heard the stories about her courtship with Chuck Bass, of course she would understand. But she also knew not every single story was the same and she didn’t want the false expectations or reassurances that things could change given a little time.

“I think I would like that cup of tea now,” she said.

“Dorota!” Blair shouted. “Could you make some tea, please! Now, Elizabeth, tell me everything. Don’t leave any details out. We’re going to see what we can do to fix this for you.”

“But the Snowflake Ball!” Betty protested. “I could really use the distraction.”

“We’ll sort decorations while we talk,” Blair said decidedly. “That will be a big help for me, I’m so pregnant, I can barely move and Serena isn’t getting back from her honeymoon with Nate until the day before the Snowflake Ball.”

“Fine,” Betty said.

“Also, I do like your idea about a ballroom drenched in white Christmas lights,” Blair told her. “I think it’ll be gorgeous. Are you up to the task of making sure we have enough of them?”

“I am,” Betty answered.

Blair reached for the teapot that Dorota had set in front of her and poured Betty a cup of tea. “Now that we have that detail settled, tell me some more about Forsythe and how you came about falling in love with him.”

She wrapped her hands around the warm cup and took a deep breath, breathing in the fragrant brew. “I don’t know. We’ve been best friends since we were kids. Maybe I was always in love with him and I just didn’t know it until we started sleeping with each other.”

“Sex does complicate things,” Blair said, holding up a crystal snowflake to show Betty. “What do you think? I had them custom made in Italy this summer. Aren’t they perfect?”

Betty nodded and took a sip of her tea. “Did everything change when you and. . .”

“Chuck slept together for the first time?” Blair finished for her. “Of course it did.  I don’t even want to get into how poorly I treated him. . . how poorly we treated each other afterwards.”

“We’re not treating each other poorly. . .” Betty trailed off. “We’re just. . . it’s just. . . awkward.”

“I’m sure everything will work itself out,” Blair said.

“Maybe,” Betty replied, trying to be agreeable because nobody disagreed with the queen of New York City but in the back of her mind, in her heart of hearts she could hardly believe it was true.

She was almost 100 percent certain, everything was over between them.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t even know what this hot mess of a chapter is. I just grabbed the inspiration I had and ran with it. I hope you enjoyed it and will give me some feedback, the next chapter should cover Thanksgiving if everything goes according to plan. I hope you’ll tune in! 
> 
> I am terribly sorry that this has taken so long to get to you. I have been busy with real life and work. Every single time I don’t update, I die a little. I know everyone still reading this wants to know what happens.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new story! It was inspired by Chuck and Blair from Gossip Girl. I know it’s a bit of a unpopular opinion but they remind me of them more than Dan and Serena. There is actually no Dan in this story. Veronica is the Serena and Archie is the Nate (Serenate is my endgame). This story will cover the events of season 2 of Gossip Girl and was inspired by a line Veronica said in season 1 about her old school. Hope you’re ready for some fun!
> 
> Until Next Time!


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